AWADmail Issue 305
May 4, 2008
A Compendium of Feedback on the Words in A.Word.A.Day
and Other Interesting Tidbits about Words and Languages
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From: Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org)
Subject: Interesting stories from the net
Lesbos Islanders Dispute Gay Name:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7376919.stm
Yours truly has started a new column at MSN Encarta. Here's the first one:
Sherbet With No R-tificial Ingredients:
http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/Features/Columns/?article=AnuSherbet
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From: Jessica Franken (jcf umn.edu)
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--chimera
Refer: http://wordsmith.org/words/chimera.html
The public radio show Radiolab recently did a segment on a chimera mother,
who -- in a way, and according to her DNA -- is her own twin:
http://www.wnyc.org/shows/radiolab/episodes/2008/03/14
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From: Katie Clark (keclark okstate.edu)
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--chimera
It is interesting you featured this word this week. I often watch the
marathons of reruns of CSI [Crime Scene Investigation] on Spike TV. One
of the episodes this week featured a man with two sets of DNA, a chimera.
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From: Ann Turnock (annt support.ucla.edu)
Subject: Chimera
My cousin developed a particularly severe kind of lymphoma, with a very poor
prognosis. The only treatment that offered hope was a stem cell transplant,
and one of his sisters was a perfect match. His own immune system had to be
obliterated before the transplant. Four years later he is a healthy chimera
and his DNA tests female! His wife says life with a chimera is great.
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From: Victoria Loeb Ziss (loebv lmsd.org)
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--argus
Refer: http://wordsmith.org/words/argus.html
Young readers will also recognize that Argus Filch is the overly watchful
caretaker of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the Harry Potter
books. (This is just one among many classical references in the series.)
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From: Bill Ward (bill wards.net)
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--argus
The newspaper in Fremont, CA is called the Argus.
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From: Alexa Fleckenstein (coldwatermd yahoo.com)
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--argus
Argusaugen (literally, Argus's eyes) is a term frequently used in German
much as eagle-eyed is here.
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From: Lee Laney (llaney nvcf.org)
Subject: Argus
This background of "argus" explains its use in naming the Argus 35mm camera.
This was the first inexpensive ($12.50) 35mm camera and it put a camera into
the hands of millions of Americans and allowed them to enter this new realm
of photography in the 1930s. It also weakens my friend's claim that the
camera name was coined in part to acknowledge the role of his uncle "Gus" in
the development of this camera!
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From: Matt Nash (mattn co.island.wa.us)
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--argus (also Odysseus's hound)
This name was also used by Homer, given to Odysseus's faithful hound. The
hero, upon returning home after his twenty-year journey, was unrecognized by
all but old Argus, who heard Odysseus's voice but, too old and weak to crawl
to him, wagged his tail, flattened his ears, and then was "seized by the
dark hand of death", content in knowing finally that his master had
returned. I liked the story so much I so named my dog. My Argus was a
friendly, gentle, and faithful member of our family for many years, but his
"dark hand of death" belonged to a neighborhood scoundrel and was holding a
pistol. In a peculiar coincidence, I was just thinking of my old pal Argus
early this morning, though it's been over eight years now.
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From: Pedro Benitez (pedro.benitez skanska.com)
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--centaur
Refer: http://wordsmith.org/words/centaur.html
Mexican Revolutionary icon Pancho Villa (1878-1923) was also known by
the nickname El Centauro del Norte (The Centaur of the North) because of
his horse riding expertise and for his use of an elite cavalry unit called
Los Dorados (The Golden Ones). A classic photo of him riding his horse
can be seen at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Francisco_Villa.gif .
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From: Art Haykin (theart bendbroadband.com)
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--harpy
Refer: http://wordsmith.org/words/harpy.html
As a young grammar school student, all the class had to memorize a favorite
poem. I had many, but I picked "Old Ironsides" which was a protest against
the Navy's intention to dismantle or scuttle her. Oliver Wendel Holmes
composed it, and it referred to Harpies. Many historians believe this poem
was instrumental in her being restored and being turned into a national
treasure. http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Old_Ironsides
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From: Anna Ingebretson (mail4me56547 yahoo.com)
Subject: Mythical creatures
One hasn't even begun to descend into the realms of the imaginary until
he's read the works of writers like Dr. Seuss, Lewis Carroll, or Shel
Silverstein. Silverstein is my personal favorite, who wrote hundreds of
light, humorous poems for children. Included in his works are wildly
descriptive poems about creatures or monsters such as the "Terrible Feezus",
the "Glurpy Slurpy Skakagrall", the "Gheli", the "One-Legged Zantz", and
many others. I like the "Slithergadee" most:
The Slithergadee has crawled out of the sea.
He may catch all the others, but he won't catch me.
No you won't catch me, old Slithergadee,
You may catch all the others, but you wo--
............................................................................
The greatest masterpiece in literature is only a dictionary out of order.
-Jean Cocteau, writer, artist, and filmmaker (1889-1963)
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